As one of the leading authorities on stinginess, Ebenezer Scrooge would be extremely proud of the Whitehall boys basketball team.

Granted, it's a bit late to be hauling out a Christmas reference, but their back-to-back wins over the weekend was a direct result of a defense that was downright parsimonious. Just the way Scrooge likes it.

In Friday's 54-41 win over Emmaus High School, head coach Jeff Jones said they met the Green Hornets with a full-court press, extending their match defense as soon as the ball was in bounded. It was effective in disrupting the visiting Hornets, and gave the Zephs an opportunity to claim their second league win of the year.

Jones said they kept Emmaus from getting comfortable in their sets. He also said they're a really well-balanced team which has a line-up that features "five solid guys on the floor at all times," and any type of disruption was key in making them work hard for everything on offense. The result of that pressure was evident on the scoreboard as the Zephs limited them to just 22 points through three quarters.

"I felt like we really slowed them down," said Jones.

Furthermore, they have embraced their defensive roles, devoting a large portion of practice to their match defense. Jones said it's something they continually work on and has become an integral part of who they are.

"We're committed to it," said Jones. "We have ten games to go this season, and that's going to be our emphasis. We're going to keep working at it."

The win was also a byproduct of their aggressiveness said Jones. They made a concerted effort to be as forceful as possible.

It also fueled their motivation, looking to get back into the win column after some tough losses.

"It was a great game; we came out fired up," said forward Nick Shafnisky, noting that the Green Hornets were undefeated in the league.

He said they got up early and "kept building and building."

The reason for that lead was the scoring of guard Anthony Bellucci who quickly found his stroke, connecting on three three-pointers to begin the game. He finished with game with 22 points to lead the Zephs.

"My teammates just found me," said Bellucci. "I was open and I just knocked down some shots."

Bellucci said that once he finds that groove, his confidence soars and he feels like every shot is going to go in the hoop.

Whether it was spotting up on a fast break to drain a three, or coming off a screen, Jones said that Bellucci's incendiary start was the engine that drove the Zephs.

"He was hot right away," Jones said. "When the shots start going, everything's better."

Also having a good floor game was Brad Radocha who finished with 12 points. Matt Melosky finished with five points, while Aaron Keglovits had eight.

Shafnisky said that they met Emmaus' intensity and exceeded it, each player out working his man.

Bellucci said it was important to shut down guard Derek Tannous, their best shooter. They accomplished that feat, limiting him to six points.

"I thought we defended the perimeter really well," said Bellucci. "They were hitting some, but we came back with a great possession of our own, and that's what pulled out the victory tonight."

It was the same story against East Stroudsburg South as the Zephs deployed their suffocating match to topple the Cavaliers 47-34.

Jones said they weren't as familiar with ESS, so he watched some tape and then unleashed his match defense that throttled the Cavs, holding them to just single digits each quarter.

"It's really been successful for us," he said.

The Zephs were paced by Bellucci who had 12 points. Radocha knocked down 10, while Seth Sommer added nine and Shafnisky had six.

Those two wins even their record at 6-6.